Of everything in a kyudo kit, the yugake is the item that resists ordering from a distance. A bow can be chosen from a table. A glove is fitted to one hand — yours, the right one — and the process has a constraint that surprises most people abroad: the hand tracing is accepted by post only.
The constraint to plan around first
Makers reject hand traces sent by fax or email, because a trace can be resized in transmission. A scan that prints at 98% produces a glove that is wrong by a margin you will feel on every shot.
So the timeline for an overseas order is not “order and wait for shipping”. It is: measure → post the physical trace to Japan → wait for the maker to match or make → ship. Budget for that before you need the glove.
What is actually measured
The right hand only, in centimetres, and ideally measured by another person rather than yourself.
- Each digit: length, circumference at the middle knuckle, and circumference at the thickest part
- Palm and wrist: circumference at three places — midway between the base of the palm and the little finger, at the base of all four fingers, and above the wrist bone
- Hand trace: drawn with a ball-point pen held perpendicular to the paper, outlining the whole hand plus 5 cm up the arm from the wrist, with the wrist joint marked by a line so the himo sits correctly
The pen angle matters more than it sounds. Held at a slant, the outline drifts outward by a few millimetres all the way round — consistently, in the direction that makes the glove too large.
Two ways to buy, not one
| Route | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tegata (from stock) | The maker picks the yugake from existing stock that best matches your measurements. No custom fee when something in inventory fits. |
| Custom-made | Used when nothing in stock fits. A custom order fee applies, and it takes longer. |
Most people assume custom is the default for a fitted item. It is not: stock matching is tried first, and it is the cheaper and faster outcome when your hand is close to a standard shape.
Three-finger or four-finger comes before sizing
Sizing is downstream of the type. Mitsugake (three-finger) is generally recommended for beginners for ease of use and lower cost; yotsugake (four-finger) and morogake (five-finger) exist for other styles and levels. Settle this with your instructor first — measurements taken for the wrong type are wasted effort.
See How to Choose a Yugake: Three-Finger vs Four-Finger, and Fit, and Giriko (Rosin) for the maintenance side once it arrives.
Sources. Measurement procedure (right hand, per-digit and palm/wrist circumferences, pen-perpendicular trace plus 5 cm of arm, wrist line for himo placement), the post-only submission rule and its reason, and the tegata / custom-made routes: Sambu Kyugu (yugake sizing). Glove types and the beginner recommendation: kyudo.com. Checked 2026-08-18. We do not stock equipment, but we can order it from Japan for you (see Ordering from overseas) — procedures differ by maker, so confirm with the shop you order from.